Nostalgia Trap

This week Justin and I ask the eternal question: Does the United States' ugly record of horrific interventions in the affairs of other states undermine its claims to moral leadership? LOL of course it does! But, as we look to our Guiding Lights (Chomsky and Zinn) there's always more to the story... To hear the whole episode, join our bonus stream: patreon.com/posts/livestream-4-6-64815684

Peter Staudenmaier is a professor of history at Marquette University whose work focuses on Nazi Germany, Italian fascism, environmental history, and occultism. His latest book, Ecology Contested: Environmental Politics between Left and Right (AK Press, 2021), explores how environmental ideals circulate on both the radical right and left, and how questions of ecology fit into the landscape of conspiracy theories, hyper-nationalism, and fascism. Subscribe to our bonus feed: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

Ryan Boyd returns to the Trap to talk about the unique generational experience of an analog childhood and digital adulthood. From Steely Dan on vinyl to David Foster Wallace on paper, we explore the desire to consume art in non-digital ways, and what that says about our fractured electronic existence. Full episode is here: patreon.com/posts/episode-320-west-64258531

Theologian Adam Kotsko discusses how TV shows like The Office, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad reflect societal attitudes under neoliberalism. Topics include awkwardness, portrayal of morally ambiguous characters, and societal perceptions of success and evil.

Jason P. Woodbury is a musician and music writer based in the Sonoran desert. Check out his work on Aquarium Drunkard and his personal site, where you’ll find lots of great stuff on music nostalgia, the vinyl world, counterculture, and lots of other favorite Trap topics. In this conversation, we talk about what we gained and lost with streaming music, the 2000s garage rock revival, the evolution of Jeff Tweedy and Wilco, the importance of developing a creative “practice,” and the ever-present danger of becoming a grouchy old punk.  

The Trap Livestream returns, as Justin Rogers-Cooper joins me for a live conversation about the insane wormhole we seem to be entering: Russia's invasion of Ukraine, gangster capitalism, Nazis, nuclear brinksmanship--plus the Saudis like China more than us now?! Let's get a hold of some narrative threads as the global system unravels/reorders/implodes. Full episode here: patreon.com/posts/livestream-3-15-63839534

What is “apocalypse” and is it always a bad thing?  This week we talk with Aaron Thorpe of the Trillbilly Worker’s Party podcast about maintaining a positive vision of the future despite all signs to the contrary. In addition to reflecting on apocalyptic fiction like Children of Men and Station Eleven, we consider how the “end of the world” shapes our vision of what’s possible. Listen to the full episode here: patreon.com/posts/62904889

Ryan Boyd teaches in the Writing Program at the University of Southern California. His website collects much of his excellent writing, including a number of pieces on pedagogy and the state of higher education that we discuss in this episode. From crippling student loans and shitty mask policies to racist administrations and right-wing censorship, Ryan helps us explore what’s wrong, what can be done about it, and why our beleaguered colleges and universities are such critical battlegrounds for the future. Subscribe to support the show and access our huge bonus library: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap.

Historian Henry Maar’s new book Freeze! The Grassroots Movement to Halt the Arms Race and End the Cold War examines the ways in which ordinary people confronted the horrors of nuclear war, with a specific focus on the extraordinary Nuclear Freeze campaign of the 1980s. In this conversation, Maar explains the roots of anti-nuclear activism in the United States, and tells us how Ronald Reagan’s aggressive Cold War posturing (along with the nuclear apocalypse film The Day After) created an atmosphere of dread that sparked an unprecedented global movement. Subscribe to support the show and to access bonus episodes: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap.

The always engaging Yasmin Nair returns to continue our survey of how COVID is fucking us up on multiple channels: politically, economically, and spiritually. From liberals cheering on the deaths of the unvaxxed to celebrities spinning off into NFT land—all while the Biden administration tells us to “Google it”—things are looking pretty grim. How do we find hope in this degraded social landscape? Listen to the whole episode: patreon.com/posts/episode-314-hope-62069216